Crimson Velvet
by Ms. Selly
Summary: Faith has always walked a fine line. But pulled into a dimension where Angelus commands LA from the demonic "Crimson Velvet" nightclub, she will have to make a decision, or be pulled over the line.
1. Gotta Have Faith

Crimson Velvet

Chapter 1:

'Gotta Have Faith'

**A warm breeze gently stirred up the leaves lying on the ground**. Of course, in southern California, the breezes were generally warm. But that didn't make it any less pleasurable. The late afternoon sun shone down on the 'Sunnydale School District' bus. No one in the parking lot could ignore it. For now, it was only the oddity of a school bus in the parking lot that drew their stares. The news about Sunnydale hadn't spread yet. They would have to paint over the bus to avoid awkward questions once it had.

Faith smiled, eyes closed and took a deep breath. She could just picture the scene occurring inside. The mob of Slayers would be taking up almost the entire lobby, and Buffy would be trying to explain that, yes, they really did want an entire floor of rooms. Robin would probably be backing her up and helping keep her from using her Slayer strength on the confused clerk. Faith tried to stay out of the way of the power duo when they were trying to get something done. It was easier, she found, to simply step aside than try to become involved.

The desk clerk would have to call a manager. Giles would begin complaining about the inefficiencies of the American systems. Andrew would agree until Rona reminded him that he too was an American. Then he would become indignant and complain until Buffy silenced him with a glare. No one wanted to get in Buffy's way when she was dealing with hotel staff. She had very little patience these days, and even less when she was tired. Willow would offer to use a simple mind-melding spell on whoever came out, and Kennedy would roll her eyes. Giles would start to lecture her on the "improper use of magickal abilities", then realize she was joking and start to clean his glasses. About that time, the manager would finally show up.

After explaining what they wanted to the manager as well, someone, usually Vi, would notice that Faith was missing. Buffy and Giles would exchange meaningful looks and send Andrew out to find her. He would search the bus, even looking under the seats (as if) for her, but he could never find her. He would return defeated, and Robin would make some smart-ass comment about "his girl". By then, they would have finally succeeded in procuring enough rooms for all the girls, and they would make a mad dash for the elevator, frightening all the other patrons. Xander would try to convince them that they all didn't have to fit into one elevator, and that if they were going to try, the least they could do was to let him squeeze in too. Once everyone was settled in, Faith would make her appearance. Kennedy would say something about how strange it was that Faith always seemed to show up just when there was no more work to be done.

"You bet your ass," Faith murmured aloud. She stretched and grinned. Her plans were always foolproof. They worked well for both parties. She didn't have to do anything, and the Scoobies didn't have to try and make her do something, thus wasting valuable time in which they could do the work themselves. Perfect.

She heard the front door swing open. Right on cue, Andrew jogged toward the bus.

"Faith? Are you out here, Faith?"

_Sure am, but see if you can find me_, she thought, another smile spreading across her face. Sometimes she couldn't even believe how amazingly clever she was.

"I know you're here, Faith. And I'm gonna find you this time!" The bus wobbled slightly as he got on board. "Faith? Come on, Faith, it's not funny!"

_Like hell it isn't_, Faith could barely stifle a laugh. But it was vitally important she did. Her entire operation would fall to pieces if she was discovered.

"You have to realize that the hero always finds his quarry. Like in that one issue, the Joker thought he could hide from Batman and lure him into his trap, but Batman knew all along where Joker was hiding. Not implying that you're like the Joker. You haven't been evil for months."

Safe in her hiding place, Faith rolled her eyes. That boy was seriously off somewhere. And he also seemed to have been absent when they were handing out people skills. She was in no position to criticize anyone's interpersonal talents, of course. She wasn't about to claim she was a "people person", or that she wasn't blunter than a club; but even she had more finesse than Andrew.

"Fine! See if I save you any pizza!" Back into the roadside hotel he stormed. Faith rolled onto her side and watched him depart, oozing frustration from every nerdy pore. Once he was safely out of ear shot, she allowed herself the luxury of an unrestrained cackle of victory. Several people getting luggage out of their cars looked around in surprise, but they couldn't see her.

Although she couldn't hear them, she could just see the legs of her companions. She could pick out Buffy's, Giles's, Willow's and Xander's easily. Kennedy was pretty easy, because her legs were pretty much intertwined with Willow's. The other new Slayers were a bit harder, since so many of them dressed the same. Honestly, no one had individual style these days. However, she watched as all the legs quickly left her view. The sprint for the elevator was on.

She waited a few more minutes, just to be safe, then sat up. Time for her grand entrance. Jumping nimbly off the top of the bus, she sauntered into the lobby.

**"But I need him! I can't live without him!"** One of the Slayers whose name Faith hadn't quite caught, clung to the remote. Rona rolled her eyes.

"You can live one night without your Brad Pitt fix. I want to watch something else for once."

"But-" the Pitt-obsessed Slayer sadly relinquished the remote and the other girls in the room cheered.

"As long as it hasn't got any blood in it, I'll be happy," Vi shuddered and hugged a pillow tighter, "I'm not ready to watch violence just yet."

"Well, whatever you ladies decide, I'm out of here," Faith rose and grabbed her leather jacket off the chair.

"Faith, Giles said we 'shouldn't venture out unarmed'," one of the girls piped up. Faith grinned wolfishly at her.

"Girl, I am a weapon." The protester looked like she was going to say more, but Rona cut in.

"Chill. Faith can take care of herself."

"Thanks," Faith shot Rona a quick thumbs-up.

"No problem, girl. Just be careful."

"When have I not been careful?"

**Rogue or no, she was still the same Faith once she reached the dance floor.** The music blared, the strobe flashed, and she just let herself go. This was the one place that she could stop being a Slayer, stop searching for redemption, stop being a murderer. She could just be "Faith", no tricks, no complications.

_People everywhere_

_A sense of expectation_

_Hangin' in the air_

_Givin' out a spark_

_Across the room_

_You eyes are glowin' in the dark_

The men flocked around her. They always did. A ring of upset girlfriends began to surround the dance floor. All of their furious eyes were burning into Faith. But the heat just made her go harder, be bolder. They were all watching her? Good. She was going to give them their show.

_And here we go again_

_We know the start_

_We know the end_

_Masters of the scene_

_We've done it all before_

_And now we're back to get some more_

_You know what I mean-_

Things hadn't changed on the dance floor. She had been like this since before she became Slayer. Afterwards, it still wasn't much difference. Only that she could dance harder and longer without half the negative effects on her body. She had danced this way when she showed up in Sunnydale, running from Kakistos, hoping to start a new, better life.

_Voulez-Vous_

_Take it now or leave it_

_Now is all we get_

_Nothing promised_

_No regrets_

_Voulez-vous_

_Ain't no big decision_

_You know what to do_

_La question_

_C'est voulez-vous_

_Voulez-vous_

She had danced like this while Buffy's friends-yes, Buffy's friends. That was really the problem there. They were all Buffy's friends. She was the intruder. She was always the intruder; breaking in on their tea parties, and spoiling the fun. She danced like this after she killed a man, and was never the same. Except in her dancing.

_And here we go again_

_We know the start_

_We know the end_

_Masters of the scene_

_We've done it all before_

_And now we're back to get some more_

_You know what I mean-_

When she had time to go out while she was working for the Mayor, this was the way she danced. Her descent into evil changed her life, her outlook, her friends (or lack thereof), but not her dancing. Out at the Bronze, no one would tell the enormous changes that had occurred between the girl who had showed up one night, and the girl who was here now.

_Voulez-Vous_

_Take it now or leave it_

_Now is all we get_

_Nothing promised_

_No regrets_

_Voulez-vous_

_Ain't no big decision_

_You know what to do_

_La question_

_C'est voulez-vous_

_Voulez-vous_

After her coma, in Buffy's body, this is how she danced. She had found Buffy's body as lithe and capable of twists and gyrations as hers, but not as willing. It was obvious that Buffy did not dance that way. Which was one of the reasons Faith was so proud that she did. Buffy was Slayer first. Buffy had a Watcher who loved her and lived. Buffy had friends. Buffy had a tormented vampire boyfriend. Faith didn't have any of those things...everything she got was second rate. But she could dance in ways Buffy would never imagine.

_Volez-Vous_

_Take it now or leave it_

_Now is all we get_

_Nothing promised_

_No regrets_

_Voulez-vous_

_Ain't no big decision_

_You know what to do_

_La question_

_C'est voulez-vous_

_Voulez-vous_

_Voulez-vous_

The song ended, and slowly the men drifted back towards their partners. That was probably the saddest part of life for Faith. When everyone who had adored her a moment ago decided she was just an ordinary girl, and went back to their real life. It would be nice if once, just once, one of the guys stayed to talk. Have a drink. But they never did. The girlfriends would pout for a few minutes, but they would take them back before the night ended. And Faith was left standing on the dance floor, alone among couples.

The night had suddenly taken a depressing turn. With a heavy sigh, Faith wiped some droplets of sweat off her forehead with her hand, and headed for the door.

The night air was surprisingly chilly. It felt good after being inside a veritable furnace. She let a sudden gust of wind whip her dark hair around her head and grinned into the night, determined to cheer herself back up. She had been flying high on emotion all night, and was not about to crash into real life now.


	2. New Horizon

Crimson Velvet

Chapter 2:

'New Horizon'

**It was almost disappointing that they had stopped in such a small town.** There were no vampires running around. Faith knew that it was terrible and wrong to be sad there were no evil homicidal creatures in a town, but she was. It meant there was nothing she could use to blow off some steam.

She settled for a few kicks and punches into the night. Sparring with an invisible opponent, she created the story quickly in her mind. This was the most evil of vampires. She was the only one who could destroy him. He had already defeated the Scoobies, and she was the last one left. The only hope for all mankind.

She had wandered into a park. He lunged, she darted out of the way and surprised him with a spinning kick. She beheaded a bush, but was so involved in her mental battle, she didn't even notice. He leapt away from her, and ran. Grinning, she gave chase. They ran hard and far until Faith was deep into the forest. It was too late when she realized he had lured her into a trap. She couldn't escape. It was a gladiator match now, and the vampire had the upper hand.

They traded blow after blow, each whirling just out of reach of the other, then spinning back in for what should be a killing attack. The vampire was the most powerful of all vampires; but Faith was the greatest of all the Slayers. They were equally matched, locked in a death match that would go on forever.

He jumped up and raced behind her. She whirled around and punched. It was only now, when she saw her hand engulfed in unnatural blue light, that she realized she was lost in the wood and had just punched something mystical and unstable.

"Oh, shit," was all she managed to say before she popped out of this reality.

**Something was poking her.** Faith wrinkled her nose. None of her companions was brave or foolhardy enough to dare poke Faith while she was asleep. She did not take kindly to being awoken, and usually took out her anger on the one doing the waking.

"Beat it," she growled, rolling over. She was very tired, so she decided to be merciful. Then she realized she was lying on the ground and had dirt in her nose. Coughing and sneezing, she sat up, blinking furiously, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, she found herself wishing they hadn't.

The first impression she had was of gray. The sky was the annoyingly bright form of gray that forces one to squint and look away. All the buildings she saw were shades of gray, or graying colors of peeling paint. The grayness was almost smothering, it stifled her thoughts and made her feel very uncomfortable. Turning to look for her poker, she saw a girl completely bundled in, surprise, gray. What had been poking her was the loaded crossbow currently positioned over her heart.

"Are you evil?" The girl's voice was muffled by the cloth that covered all but her nose and eyes. Faith laughed shortly.

"Great question, kid. Folks have been trying to solve that one for years." The girl didn't move, nor did her facial expression change.

"Are you a vampire?"

"No." Her green eyes met Faith's suddenly.

"How can I believe you?"

"Well, I-" But Faith's response was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. The girl looked quickly around, then simply turned and ran down the street. Faith arched her eyebrows. Strange kid. She turned to see who was coming. Her eyes widened. It was Cordelia.

"Hey there. Let me guess, you're new in town." She smiled a dazzling Cordelia smile. She looked like the same Cordy Faith had known, but paler. Her eyes looked a little bit sunken in. But she was dressed as stylishly as ever, with a chic scarf tied around her neck.

"Yeah," Faith eyed her warily. She had heard the horror stories the Scoobies told about alternate realities. She had no idea who or what this Cordelia was.

"You like to party?"

"Sure."

"Then you've gotta come to Crim."

"Crim?" Cordelia laughed.

"Crimson Velvet. It's the hottest club ever. I work there. I could introduce you to the owner. I think he'll like you." Faith considered for a few moments. It could be extremely dangerous to follow this unknown Cordy. But she knew nothing about this world, and there wasn't exactly a plethora of people standing waiting to help her. At the very least, she would probably get to meet some of the power in this town.

"Lead on."

**"Hello ladies!"** Cordelia pushed open the metal door to reveal a large room. It had a thin walkway running all around the edge and a dark metal railing, with a set of stairs leading down into the main area. There was almost nothing on the walls, but there were a few mats on the floor. It was almost filled with young women.

There didn't seem to be a single connecting characteristic, though there were a majority of blondes. All of them were very pale, but in varying degrees. None of them looked particularly healthy, but all appeared perfectly happy.

"Hey Cordy!" A tall redhead waved at her. "Who's your friend?"

"Everybody, this is Faith." A chorus of greetings rippled through the room. Faith smiled somewhat awkwardly. She didn't like crowds very much. Especially not when she was stranded in an alternate dimension she had no knowledge of.

"Are you going to be joining us, Faith?" A very petite blonde with aggressive make-up asked.

"Well, I'm kind of in the dark here, so…" Everyone twittered appreciatively.

"I brought her especially for him," Cordy said, beaming, "Do you think he'll like her?" A small din of moans and eye rolls spread through the crowd.

"You are such a suck-up, Cordy."

"Isn't it enough that you're his favorite?"

"Like he'd ever not like something you brought him."

"We're all jealous anyway, do you have to rub it in?" Cordy laughed brightly at the various comments.

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," she shrugged.

"I certainly don't." The room went silent and a shiver ran up Faith's spine. She knew that voice. She wished she didn't, but she knew that voice. This was quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened in an alternate reality. She didn't want to turn around, but knew she had to. She stood out to much, with all the other girls staring at him. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she faced him.

He looked no different than he did in her world. He wore a dark silk shirt halfway open with a thin silver chain around his neck. Paired with the tightest pair of black leather pants Faith had seen on anybody besides herself, he was gorgeous. And that was how he was most dangerous.

"Angelus," Cordy said in a breathy sigh. Faith realized suddenly that the girls weren't staring in fear or horror. They looked…worshipful. Longing. How extremely twisted the situation was hit her with the force of ten vampires. They didn't hate him. They loved him. He wasn't a monster to them. He was a god.

"I," Cordy started to speak again, but stopped herself with a blush. Angelus leaned onto the railing that traveled around the upper balcony, knowing damn well how attractive he looked. That was something that Faith had always hated about him. He always knew his crowd, and exactly how to play to it. When to be vicious and threatening…and when to be sensual.

"Don't be shy, Cordy. Did you bring me a special treat?"

"I did. Faith?" Faith didn't have to move. All the other girls stepped away from her, so she was directly in Angelus' view.

"Faith. That's an interesting name. Reminds me of religion. Say, do you have sisters named Hope and Charity?" Faith suddenly had a complete understanding of what steaks in the butcher shop went through everyday. His eyes freely roamed her body, making no pretenses of admiring her clothes or looking for something. And his cold, dark eyes showed pure hunger. _Hunger for me,_ Faith realized with another shiver.

"Do you like her?" Cordy asked, clearly unashamed of the undisguised need for approval in her voice. Angelus licked him lips and tilted his head.

"Tell me, 'Faith'…how flexible are you?" Faith tipped her head up so she was staring directly into his eyes and fought the impulse to cringe or look away.

"Ask my boyfriend," she forced her voice to be blasé with just a touch of defiance. A soft murmur of surprise undulated throughout the girls. Angelus smirked.

"Is it just me, tell me if it's just me, or are you actually talking back to me?" Though his face had a semblance of amusement, the hardness she saw in his eyes terrified her. But she wasn't going to let him see that. She would never let him see it.

"Well, if you aren't smart enough to figure it out," she turned away and shrugged, "I'm certainly not telling you." A gasp this time. She glanced back. He wasn't there. She only had to wonder for a few moments where he had gone, because after those moments, his hand was around her throat. It was also then that she discovered that in this dimension, she was not a Slayer.

She choked as he squeezed and he smiled. _Sadist_, she coughed inside her head, _filthy sadistic bastard. _She had never felt this amount of helplessness before. She had always been tough, and then she was the Slayer, and there was no one tougher. Now she had lost her Slayer powers, and her body didn't seem to remember how to be tough on it's own.

"You wanna know what I hate? Stupid humans like you who think they have any power at all. You mean nothing. There are two things I can do with you, sweetheart. I can suck you, or I can fuck you. I might do one, both, and maybe even at the same time because, hey, I'm a multitasker. But if you're going to be trouble, I'll just rip your head off now." Faith shut her eyes, trying not to let the agony he was causing her show on her face. It hurt so much, it was quite literally killing her. She steeled her jaw. She would not give him what he wanted. She remembered what she had learned in her years as Slayer. It wasn't just blood that fed vampires. The blood fed their bodies, yes, but what they really needed was fear and pain. That was what kept them going.

"Go to hell," she managed to choke out, squinting down at him.

"You _are_ a saucy one, aren't you?" He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, then ran his free hand roughly over her body. She squeezed her eyes shut again and stiffened, trying not to feel sick and dirty. "You're hired." In an instant she was released.

She bent over, gasping for breath and holding her neck where his fingers had dug into her. He looked down at her, mildly amused. Then he slid a finger under her chin, and more gently than she would have ever imagined him capable of, lifted and turned her head. He leaned in.

"Daybreak," he murmured in her ear, then excruciatingly slowly, ran his tongue over the marks he had left on her neck. Faith couldn't hold back her shudder this time, and he just laughed.

**"Oh god,"** Faith stood in front of the floor length mirror, Cordelia smiling proudly behind her.

"You look awesome! I wasn't sure you could pull it off, but you sure can."

"Uh." That was all Faith could manage. The sight of herself in the mirror was enough to make her doubt everything she had been trying to convince herself of the past few years. Cordy had helped her put on her uniform. Apparently she was to be a waitress/dancer at Crimson Velvet. Looking at the outfit, it wasn't hard to tell Angelus was the owner.

A black leather corset with dark burgundy lace that accentuated…parts…was her only top. The skirt, if you could call it that, was velvet in a surprisingly beautiful shade crimson. It was heavily starched, and nearly parallel to the floor. The same style of lace, except in black, helped give the skirt some of it's body. Adding to the "centerfold" look were thigh high black boots, fishnet stockings, and creepily frilly garters. There were also leather straps haphazardly fastened around her neck and down her arms, connected to a pair of fingerless mesh gloves. Combining all of it with her violently red lips and dark eye make-up, she felt like something out of a perverted Goth's fantasy.

"But what to do with your hair?" Cordy lifted a bit of her hair and let it fall, biting her lip, "It's not very interesting, is it?"

"You don't have to be so involved Cordy. I'll figure something out. God knows I've done my own hair before."

"I'm here to help you, Faith. You're not going out there until I say you are perfect!" Faith stared at her, puzzled. Why would Cordy care so much about how someone else looked, especially if that "someone else" looked like a 5 dollar whore anyway. Unless…

"It's because of Angelus. If he's not happy with how I look, he'll take it out on you, won't he? Because you're the one that brought me." Cordelia looked away, and that was the only answer Faith's needed. "Why do you let him treat you like this?"

"He's…he's Angelus. And I love him."

"You can't love a monster like that, Cordelia. Trust me, I know. I've dated my share of monsters, but they've all been human. Non-human monsters…that's getting into dangerous territory."

"I just thought of the cutest thing we could do to your hair!" Cordelia beamed with fake cheeriness. Faith decided, for one of the first times in her life, not to push it. This wasn't the time. She'd wait until she'd gathered more information about this world and how it worked before she started freeing the girls from Angelus' hold. Once she knew why they clung to him, it wouldn't be too hard to make them let go.


	3. Branded

Crimson Velvet

Chapter 3:

'Branded'

**She was aware of being leered at no matter where she went.** Faith shuddered and, not for the first time that night, pulled self-consciously at her "skirt". It was extremely unlike her to feel this way. Normally, she loved it when people watched her, it gave her a boost of confidence to know that they all wanted her. But normally, she wasn't alone in an unknown parallel universe looking like an escapee from the S/M version of the Playboy Mansion.

Cordy had indeed thought of something to do with her hair, but Faith wouldn't really call it "cute". "Interesting" would be the kindest adjective to describe it; "twisted", "freaky", and "yuck" were the words that came into Faith's mind. She had first braided Faith's hair, then put it up in two strange looking buns on the back of her head, with black lacy ribbon trailing down her back. She had also left out two large chunks that she had curled and now waved around her face. It had frightened Faith to look at her reflection…luckily, Crimson Velvet wasn't known for it's mirrors. She couldn't imagine why.

A shout from the other side of the room reminded her that she was balancing a tray of drinks and there were thirsty demons waiting. Sighing, she tried to brush some of the hair out of her face and headed over. She set down the tray a little to carelessly, and droplets of whatever neon green liquid was in the glasses sprayed over the table. A scaly looking demon hissed at her.

"Watch it, girly."

"Excuse me?" Faith couldn't help herself. She tilted her body and stuck a hand on her hip, unaware that she was making quite a few demons at tables behind her very happy with their seats. The demon narrowed it's yellow eyes at her and flicked out a pronged tongue.

"You should check that mouth," he stood up, and uncoiled. He was almost seven feet tall and Faith swallowed hard. Massive, angry snake-like demon: check. Slayer powers: uncheck. She looked away, bracing herself for the impact when he stretched his claws. But it didn't come.

"I think someone's unclear on the rules around here." She opened her eyes in shock to see Angelus, with a firm grip on snake-boy's…appendage.

"She insulted me," he hissed again, trying to wriggle out of the vampire's grip.

"Hmm, well then that's different," Angelus smiled at him, then punched him squarely between the eyes. The demon fell over backwards. "Let's review, people. You have a problem with my girls, you tell me about it. I'm a licensed professional." A majority of the clubbers laughed and returned to their drinks.

Faith sighed and started to head off to find someone to talk to, but his hand closed around her arm.

"You made me look bad in front of the customers, honey. We're going to have a nice, long chat about that later." Faith wrenched her arm away and he chuckled, "Don't take attitude with me, missy. We wouldn't want anybody to get…dead." Turning away from her, he sauntered off to do god-doesn't-want-to-know what. Faith shook her head and rubbed her arm, scanning the crowd.

She focused on a person standing by the door. She was blonde, small, looked very familiar. She was obviously wearing a Crimson Velvet uniform, but it wasn't the same one as all the other girl's wore. She wore a blazer made out of the same material as Faith's skirt with the burgundy lace at the cuffs, with a pair of black leather pants. Obviously this version of the uniform was meant to tease, rather than display.

"Hey," Faith tapped the shoulder of one of the girls who was laughing loudly at a joke a very old looking vampire had just told, "Who's that? I didn't see her earlier."

"Oh," the girl rolled her eyes, "That's just Buffy. She's a 'vampire slayer'. I honestly don't know why Angelus keeps her around."

"Thanks," Faith said, suddenly feeling detached. Buffy. There was someone else she knew in this dimension. She made her way over, and put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy spun around, all ready to fight. Faith had to do a double take. It was Buffy, but…she looked so different. She was deathly pale, with dark circles under her eyes. Her lips were raw and there wasn't a spark of life in her eyes.

"What do you want?" She sounded tired, drained of life and energy. And Faith knew why Angelus kept her around.

"I'm new, and I just thought I'd say 'hey'. So, hey."

"I don't talk with groupies," Buffy turned away and folded her arms, looking very much like she was trying to disappear.

"Groupie? I'm not a-"

"Angelus' groupies. All you girls who sit around and twitter and offer him your necks. You have no clue what he is." _Wow_, Faith thought, _confrontational Buffy. _Apparently this Buffy was a lot more assertive and world-weary than her Buffy. But then, living in a dimension where Angelus was in control…

"I'm not a groupie. I just got here yesterday, and one of the other girls brought me here. And once I was here, it's not like I could say, 'Gee, Angelus, I don't really think I'd like to work for the most vicious vampire who ever didn't live.'"

Buffy snorted with laughter. Faith grinned. Buffy tilted her head and licked her chapped lips.

"You really aren't like them, are you?"

"Never have been," Faith said. It was a little twisted. Here was a world where Buffy was an outcast because she was the noble vampire slayer, and Faith was part of the in-crowd because well, she could act like a whore. That was scary. In her dimension, they had both been branded as Slayers-Buffy triumphed and Faith suffered. Here, only Buffy was marked, and she was the suffering one. Twisted. Buffy smiled slightly and nodded, looking away. It was accepted now that Faith was like her. She was just another girl who was pulled into a bad situation. "How did he get you?"

"I came here to kill him. I was a great Slayer. Killed everything I went after, never thought twice about slaying a demon. But he was different. He gave me puppy dog eyes and told me he was different. And I believed him," she shook her head and laughed mirthlessly at her own stupidity, "god, did I believe him. I needed to 'help' him. I 'loved' him. My Watcher told me that he was a lying bastard, but I couldn't believe it. Not my sweet little Angelus. He would never hurt anyone. He was misunderstood. Make a long, sordid story short: we had sex, he nearly drained me, I'm not strong enough to fight him anymore. So I work for him."

Faith shook her head. Not so different from her world. Because she was sure that wasn't the entire story. A Slayer's strength would return. It wasn't that she couldn't defeat him in a battle of muscle. It was the other thing. Angelus' specialty. The psychological card. He could twist her mind in so many different ways, and deep down, Faith would bet her normal clothes that Buffy still loved him, in a sick, perverted way. She still wanted to save him from himself. But she never could. Redemption…that was one word Faith got really sick of. But it applied, didn't it? He would never be able to redeem himself. So Buffy would just keep suffering.

"Say, the big A wants me to meet him later…any clues what that's about?" Buffy grimaced.

"We're cattle here, Faith. You know that, don't you? And you know what the rancher does to cattle, right?" Faith stared uncomprehendingly into her eyes for a few more minutes before it clicked. A wave of revulsion swept over her.

"He brands them," she whispered. Buffy nodded.

"Sure does. And you can judge how much he likes you by how carved up you are by the time he's done. Ask the girls after shift. They love to show."

**"Well, everyone and the new girls get this one,"** Cordy ran her finger along the "basic" marking on the back of one of the other "new girls", a jagged looking 'A' burned on. "And you get a little bit more the happier you make him."

"Show her yours, Cordy!" One of the girls called, and murmurs of assent went up all around. Cordelia blushed and pretended to resist, but Faith saw the pleased sparkle in her eyes. Dramatically, she unlaced her corset, and let it drop. Faith almost had to run to prevent herself from being violently ill right there. But she held herself.

Cordelia's back was a garden of jagged looking flowers and vines. The 'A' was in the small of her back, and the rest spread out from there. It covered the entire bottom portion of her back, and most of her abdomen. Some of the scars were still red and raw, fairly new. Others had faded, but were still terrible to behold.

"Cordy's the lucky one," another of the girl's piped up, sounding unbelievably jealous, "Angelus adores her."

"Lucky," Faith murmured under her breath, gently touching the scars.

**Faith was greeted by agonized screaming.** She gently pushed the door open. Angelus was smiling up at a short young man with curly hair who was chained to the ceiling. He had several rather sharp objects protruding from various parts of his body, and Angelus was turning a fire poker over in his hands.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Oh, of course not," Angelus rammed the poker through the man's leg. He wailed and blood oozed out of the wound. Angelus winced and grinned, "Now that's gotta hurt!"

"I could come back later if you're occupied."

"No, no," the vampire squinted up at his victim, "I think he's passed out. Rotten luck. But that frees me up. Have any experience in torture?"

"Some." Bad memories of some events involving Wesley that she'd rather forget flooded into her mind.

"Damn, we could bond over some corpses," Angelus smiled, "now, I believe you're here for some fun with a branding iron. Ooh, but you were naughty girl tonight, weren't you?"

"You know what I think?" Faith forced herself to sound cool and collected. Angelus cocked his head at her.

"That you'd prefer a whipping to the pokers?"

"I think," she ignored him as best she could, "that you aren't mad about this evening."

"Oh no? Because I know me pretty well, and I think I'm really mad."

"You're bored."

"Yeah? Enlighten me."

"You've got all these young, beautiful girls, just dying for you to torture them, do whatever you want with them." Angelus nodded.

"Yeah, not really seeing a problem with that," he started forward, but Faith stood up quickly.

"They're no fun anymore, are they? You haven't had a real challenge since Buffy, have you?"

"Oh, did dear ol' Buff tell you her sob story? I'll have to punish her for that. Do you think she'd prefer chainsaws or hot coals? Since you seem to have the insider's opinion on just everything," he flipped over the table with a crash. Faith backed up, but refused to stop talking.

"You want a woman who'll take charge, and deny you something for a change." He was so close now, his lack of breath was painfully evident. In her last ditch effort, Faith wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him her most sultry look, "and where will you ever find a woman like that?" She ran her leg slowly up and down his. He grinned.

"I think I like this plan," he pulled her in and kissed her, hard. Then he bit down on her lip until it started to bleed profusely. She was completely engulfed by him, and was painfully aware of how quickly he was drawing the blood from her. But just when she thought he was going to finish the job, he threw her down onto the sofa in the room. Wiping his mouth with a sleeve, he slid casually out of game face back to his handsome façade.

"Tasty," he licked his lips again, and was poised over her. Faith couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes, because she knew the lust she would see there, and desperately wanted to pretend she wouldn't. But he was distracted, by whimpering from above him. "Hey there, buddy," he tilted his head back and grinned a very wolfish grin, "did you sleep well?"


	4. Masterpiece

Crimson Velvet

Chapter 4:

'Birds of Fire'

**She could hear the coals.** He was moving them around with his branding iron. She squeezed her eyes shut. She knew he was doing it only to frighten her. That he got a high off her fear. She would not be afraid. She refused to be afraid.

"Now, if you experience any burning, tingling, prickling, or discomfort of any kind, please let me know," Angelus bent over so his face was directly on the level of hers, "I'd hate to miss it. And please, go ahead and scream. I won't be offended."

_You wish, you slimy, filthy, disgusting, perverted-_her inner rant was cut off because her entire mind was suddenly screaming with pain. This was pain she had never known. She had been cut, punched, stabbed, slammed, kicked and almost every other manner of inflicting pain. But never, never had she been burned. She hadn't been missing out on anything spectacular. Her already damaged lip bled profusely as she bit into it, determined not to scream.

"What? No screaming. And I here I had you pegged as a shrieker. Oh well. There's lots more where that came from." He was down on his knees now, licking the charred flesh between her shoulder blades. It wasn't just his cold tongue that gave her shivers now. His whole proximity was setting her body tingling. Apparently the intense training her body had gone through to prepare her to battle vampires hadn't abandoned her completely. She didn't know how Buffy had managed to love not one, but two vampires. Maybe she got off on the constant danger signal hammering through her. That was just the kind of kinky secret Buffy would have. But in all seriousness, Faith honestly didn't know how she could do it. Every pore in her body was screaming 'vampire' at top decibels. It was insane.

"I only scream for really special guys," she hissed, teeth clenched to prevent her mouth from betraying her, "And I don't feel we've made a connection."

"Oh, you want a connection?" His cool lips dipped further down on her back, "that could be arranged."

_Dammit!_ That was probably the worst possible thing she could have said. Tormented, tortured, fondled, she could handle all that from him. It was nothing more than she endured every single day of her life. But…she didn't even want to think how bad the tingles would be. She had standards, dammit! Not high standards, she'd admit that, but one of them was 'breathing'.

She tried to get up, but his hand was on the back of her neck in moments, holding her back down.

"Don't go so soon. You'll hurt my feelings."

"Ha." The arm of the bench was beginning to dig into her stomach. Being bent halfway over hadn't been fun from the beginning, but being pushed down on top of an iron beam was downright painful. And without any special Slayer benefits, she knew she was going to be bruised for a while.

"Really, Faith. I have so many twisted fantasies trapped in my mind. All I've needed is a girl of your," he bent one of her legs up so that her foot connected with her head, "stretchiness." Apparently she hadn't lost any of the flexibility she had built up through her slaying years.

"That's really what every girl longs to hear."

"You could be a part of bringing my visions to life," he sounded choked up, and she knew it was from holding in the demonic cackle he was dying to let loose, "doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Been there, done that. Being a masterpiece gets old real quick." She had been attracted to him. God, it was sickening to even remember there was a time when she had found the evil Angelus exuded intoxicating. But she was older now. Wiser. _Ha,_ she smirked through the pain. Older, at least. She had seen the real Angelus, and she had never had to battle fuzzy feelings for him ever again. He was still physically attractive to her, sure. But knowing that lurking beneath the gorgeous face was a literal demon…definitely a turn-off. The package was evil, but she couldn't deny the wrapping was mighty fine.

"Oh, don't think about that Faith. I'm an artist, and you are quite a lovely canvas." He ran his finger over the brand, and she knew what he was thinking. "A phoenix, maybe. The wings can spread over your shoulders, and I can put some flames on those nice perky-"

"I would appreciate it if you kept your knife away from there," Faith growled, "Don't you know that there's a shortage of perfect breasts? Don't ruin mine."

"Not ruin…enhance," without warning, he jerked her up and pushed her down onto the sofa so she was lying on her back. He grinned at the mark across her stomach where the iron armrest had been, then inched his eyes up and looked critically at her now completely exposed torso, "You haven't had implants or anything, have you?"

"One-hundred percent natural."

"Good, I hate it when, just as you're putting the finishing touches on your work, you hit silicon. It's insulting, you know? That you're expected to work with a canvas that's already been worked on. It's like asking Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, and somebody had already painted a floral arrangement up there, or something."

"Not that the ranting isn't fascinating, but if you're done-" He laughed loudly at that.

"Don't you wish," he snickered, displaying all his teeth in a very predatory grin, "I've only just begun." He walked over to the coffee table and she noticed for the first time the vast array of sharp objects glinting there. He gestured absentmindedly to her, and, trying to avoid any more pain than was necessary, she heeded his command and rolled over onto her stomach.

"How long is this gonna take? I've got places to go, people to see."

"Scalpel, scissors, dagger, tweezers, so much to choose from. I think we'll start out with the scissors for some detail work. Nurse, I believe we're ready to begin." She could hear his approach, he wasn't making any effort to soften it. On the contrary, he was being purposefully loud. He wanted her to be scared, and to scream. But she wouldn't scream. He would never make her scream.

The scissors dug into her back, carving a beak just above the brand. She had the terrible feeling of being drained of life again, and the sharp pain of the cuts. But she only suffered for a few moments, before she felt his tongue on her back again, lapping at the blood, and, remarkably, sealing the cuts. _Healing spit_, she thought wryly, _must be a useful skill_. But why would he do that? Ease her suffering? The answer was obvious. Staring her in the face all the time. What use was she to him if she blacked out, or died from the blood loss? Then the games would be over.

He was back to cutting, and she guessed it was the scalpel now, broad strokes for what would be the feathered head of the mythical bird. She thought back to what Cordelia had said. 'And you get a little bit more the happier you make him.' Angelus obviously had great expectations for her. That in itself was almost scarier than anything else she had encountered thus far.

**"Faith! Faith! You'll never, never guess what I just found out!"** Cordelia burst dramatically, as always, into the dressing room, where Faith was just pulling up her stockings.

"Toad-shaped Jell-O is raining from the sky?"

"No, you're going to be in an act! A real act!" Faith frowned and sat up straight. She had to hear this. There was usually some kind of act or another going on at Crimson Velvet, an evil musical group, a not evil musical group (a crowd favorite, because they were messily dismembered after they performed), some kind of demonic comedian. Cordelia had an act sometimes, in which she played Little Red Riding Hood. This Little Red seemed to have hung onto her cloak, but not much else. She also had developed a previously unpublicized talent for pole-dancing.

"Great."

"Isn't it though?" Cordelia was so excited she either missed the sarcasm or ignored it, "Angelus is going to be in it, too! He thought about having me do it, but I'm too well known around here. He wanted a fresh face."

"I'm sure that's what he wants," Faith muttered, fastening on her garters.


End file.
